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3 Indo-Canadian Sikhs may find place in Justin Trudeau’s cabinet

As Canadian Prime Minister designate Justin Trudeau carves out his cabinet balancing regional representation, ethnicity, religion, language, and gender, three Indo-Canadian Sikhs are among the top contenders for a berth in his ministry.

(Photo courtesy: Nicholas Kamm/AFP)

The swearing-in ceremony of the 29th Canadian ministry is scheduled to take place at 10:30 am on November 4.

According to a Huffington Post, among the likely picks for the cabinet from among the Punjabis MPs are Navdeep Bains, Harjit Sajjan and Amarjeet Sohi.

Bains, a 38-year-old Indian- origin Canadian Sikh MP who played a key role in prime minister-designate Justin Trudeau’s leadership bid in 2013, is likely to get a ministerial berth, a media report has said.
Speculation is rife that Bains, a Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) from Mississauga city, may end up getting a ministry as Trudeau has already chosen ministers for his upcoming cabinet.

Having served as the MP for Mississauga-Brampton South from 2004 to 2011, he gained extensive experience as the parliamentary secretary to the PM and as the Liberal Critic in various portfolios.

Bains is presently a distinguished visiting professor at Ryerson University – Ted Rogers School of Management and holds an MBA with a specialization in Finance.

Vancouver MP Harjit Sajjan, a former lieutenant-colonel in the Canadian Armed Forces with three deployments to Afghanistan is said to be one of the people sounded out by Trudeau. Sajjan was the first Sikh to command a Canadian Army regiment. After leaving the army, he also served as a police officer for 11 years.

If a Globe and Mail analysis is to be believed former Edmonton city councillor Amarjeet Sohi, 51, might have an edge.

Sohi defeated Conservative cabinet minister Tim Uppal. Earlier this year, Sohi, who immigrated to Canada 35 years ago from India, opened up about his time as a political prisoner in the late 1980s. After he returned to India for volunteer work, he was arrested in Bihar, where police accused him of being a Sikh terrorist, with no evidence offered. He spent 21 months in prison, at first beaten and deprived of sleep, and was never charged.

He also took a leadership role to create the Police chief’s Indo-Canadian Liaison Committee, the Punjabi Cultural Association, and the Punjabi Arts Association.